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It was noisy; it was hot. In some places,
there were dust particles and lint going everywhere. But it was a way of life.
§ (female speaker) T would be for textile mills.
We are at Olympia Mill in Columbia, a great example of a mill from the late 1800s,
early 1900s which has been well preserved
and given a new use for the 21st century. §
In the late 1800s/early 1900s across the state, especially through the Midlands and the Upcountry,
we see the rise of the textile mill development, partially due to the fact that South Carolina
had an abundance of beautiful rivers and shoals that provided a lot of water power and steam
power for the manufacturing facilities.
The mills built schools, stores, anything that the mill workers might need
to carry out their daily life. The way we lived, we were all one big family.
If I didn't do something right and the neighbor up the street saw it,
my mother knew about it 'fore I got in the house
'cause the neighbor had done come to the house and told her.
(male speaker) There was a work ethic. People knew they had to work on the farm or
at the mill. (Rush) For many people, it was their life.
My father worked for Regal for years and retired from there.
Some people worked 40 and 50 years in the mill,
and that's what made it possible to live in this community.
One phrase that I associate with mill communities is that they're tightly woven.
It was like a family. The people in the village raised their children
together, went to church together, shared meals together.
They shared responsibilities together. The mill village was a wonderful place to
grow up.